Summary of the book Start with Why by Simon Sinek

Where he explains how some leaders manage to motivate others inside and outside their companies.

I summarize the 9 most interesting ideas in the book.

1 / Leaders who motivate
Leaders who succeed in motivating instill in people a sense of purpose or belonging that has little to do with external benefit.

Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King or the Wright brothers were some of these leaders.

2 / The manipulations
Most companies do not know why their customers are their customers or their employees.
When you do not know why, the usual thing is to resort to manipulations.

3 / Types of manipulations
The price
- The offers
- The fear
- Aspirations
- Social pressure
- The novelty

These manipulations generate transactions but not loyalty.
Having to come up with a new marketing tactic every day is a daunting task.

4 / The golden circle
There are a few leaders who instead of manipulating choose to inspire or motivate people to encourage them.
Those leaders use the golden circle:

They start with the WHY.
They continue with the HOW.
And they are consistent in the WHAT.

5 / The elements of the golden circle
- Every organization knows WHAT it does, the services and products it offers.
- Some know HOW they do it, what their value proposition and their processes are.
- Very few know WHY they do what they do, what their motive, purpose or belief is.

6 / Starting with the WHY
We trust those in whom we perceive common values or beliefs.
We do not buy the WHAT. We buy the WHY.
The WHY connects with our limbic system and leads us to make decisions that we then rationalize by referring to the WHAT.

7 / Celery test
The WHAT and HOW you do things have to be consistent with your WHY.
WHY helps filter choices when making WHAT and HOW decisions.
This way of selecting is called a celery test. The more celery the more confidence you generate.

8 / The rift
In most organizations there comes a time when WHAT they do and WHY they do it no longer coincide. This phenomenon is called the crack.
When the crack occurs, the trust of the customers is cracked and the motivation of the employees falls.

9 / Bus test
If the leader were hit by a bus, would the organization continue to prosper at the same rate?
The WHY must be embedded in the culture.
The successor must embrace WHY.
Wallmart, Starbucks or Microsoft abandoned the WHY when they changed leaders.

10 / Summary
Competing through offers or functionalities allows us to achieve transactions but not loyalty.

However, if we start with the WHY and are consistent with it, we can motivate our customers and employees with a sense of belonging and achieve their commitment.

In the book, Sinek develops these ideas with many examples.
You can read it on goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7108725-start-with-why

Although it could be explained in fewer pages, it is an inspiring book and a reference on purpose.